1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communications among integrated circuits (ICs), communications among functional blocks of such ICs, communications among devices that include ICs, and applications thereof.
2. Background Art
A typical IC includes transistors and/or logic that are configured into functional blocks. Example functional blocks may include, but are not limited to, an execution unit (e.g., an arithmetic logic unit), a memory unit (e.g., a cache), and a signal processing block. Functional blocks of a conventional IC are coupled together via Ohmic contacts, which are typically metal. Example Ohmic contacts include wires, traces, and signal lines.
Like functional blocks, groups of ICs may also be coupled together via Ohmic contacts. ICs are typically coupled together on a printed circuit board (PCB). The coupled ICs may be used to form a device—such as, for example, a supercomputer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a video-game console, an embedded device, a handheld device (e.g., a mobile telephone, smart phone, MP3 player, a camera, a GPS device), or the like.
Unfortunately, the Ohmic contacts used to couple functional blocks and ICs may limit the performance, the capabilities, and/or the form factors of the functional blocks and ICs. For example, Ohmic contact typically requires “point A to point B” interconnect routing of traces in planes and vias for plane-to-plane interconnection in a 3-dimensional (3D) space. When a desired communication physical route is blocked by other traces on a plane or hindered by available location or vias, additional route layers are typically required for “detour” routing to complete point A to point B Ohmic contact. These additional layers can be metal layers of a silicon semiconductor, conductor layers of a printed circuit substrate of an IC package, or conductor layers of a printed circuit board (PCB). As a result of these additional routing layers, signal path length and the cost for the interconnection are both increased. Performance is typically reduced due to the increased trace length between point A and point B. What needed is a interconnection method that is not limited by Ohmic contact physical routing requirement and having greater flexibility to achieve coupling between functional blocks.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Generally, the drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.